because it will last forever? you can sear at 700 plus degrees or low and slow for 20-24 hours without adding more lump?

So will my bullet. I've done 12hrs with coals still going, I'm sure if I tried I could do 20hrs but I have no idea why you would need to and I can get a HELLUVA lot hotter with a chimney, that's how I do my tuna steaks.

We have huge temperature swings here. The insulation that the ceramic provides is really nice when doing a low and slow cook. Yes it's expensive, but the 22.5in WSM isn't cheap either. The biggest drawback is if you have to move it. I ended up buying a smaller BGE to bring camping.

The ceramic also makes it much more charcoal efficient. I was at a cook with a guy who was using a WSM. He ended up running out of charcoal during his cook because it was so cold and windy outside. I've never used a WSM, but this is my only experience with it.

I read the whole thread, it seems like nobody has/had both and of course the egg guys are saying they love their eggs (after dropping 8 bills I would say I love it too) and the WSM guys saying if they had the cash they would buy one (which is like saying if I won the lottery I would buy one as a foot rest.) Of course this isn't a BGE so even a BGE/WSM comparison doesn't have much to do with this particular unit. This particular ceramic grill seems to line up with the 18.5" WSM (18.5" is the grate diameter) which I picked up for ~$240.

I live in SoCal and temperature doesn't really swing, I can smoke/grill/bake and I've never run out of coal

If you read the costco reviews, they're mostly 4- and 5-star reviews. One reviewer had a WSM. Considering they can easily return the product back to costco, I wouldn't think they would say positive things about it just because they own it.